Clear as Mud
by PadfootOldBuddyOldPal
Summary: Ginny needs to talk to Harry, who hasn't been sleeping, which has been bothering Ron, who goes to Dumbledore, who has invited two unexpected visitors to Hogwarts! What happens? Are you sure you want to know...
1. Visions and Dreams

Clear as Mud Chapter 1 - Visions and Dreams  
  
A/N: This story is my first fic, so I'd appreciate it if you'd review - even if you are flaming. But please try to make it constructive criticism, because otherwise it's no help to me whatsoever. I have the first two chapters written, so if it's telling you that I only have one chapter up just wait 5 minutes and the second one will be up! I know that I hate reading stories where the author never updates, especially when they are longer, so I promise that I will update regularly, and will give notice if I am away for some reason. That's all for now!  
  
Disclaimer: This whole world belongs to JK Rowling, and I only own characters that you don't recognize (if I decide to add any), and they will only be small parts, so! Read on!  
  
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"Clear as Mud! Of course I understand! It makes perfect sense that you should need my help after completely ignoring me for the past 14 years of my life!" Ginny hissed at her older brother, Ron.  
  
"Ginny, please, it's important," Ron pleaded. "It's... it's about Harry."  
  
Ginny winced - she shouldn't have got so angry...  
  
"What's wrong with him?" she asked, the fury in her voice vanquished, and replaced by concern, and a fair amount of regret for blowing up at her brother like she had.  
  
"He... I don't know," Ron scratched his head. "He just hasn't been eating or sleeping for weeks now. He uses concealing charms to cover the bags, but he's losing a lot of weight. Something's troubling him, and the last time he was like this was after the Tri-wizard Tournament last year. After he returned from.. you know."  
  
Ginny nodded, and looked down at the ground. She remembered only too well how hard it had been for Harry over the Summer. One of the only times he'd spoken to her was when they'd both been kept up with nightmares one night at The Burrow, and they'd both been discussing Voldemort and his plans. It was tough on Ginny, with Tom Riddle returning, and she knew that both her and Harry were prime targets for attack.  
  
"The only other time I've seen him this bad was when he had that crush on Cho Chang, and he was trying to get over her. At least I think that was what it was. He never actually spoke to me about that. He seemed to be avoiding me whenever I said I'd heard him mumbling in his sleep. It was as if he thought he would have been saying something that I wouldn't want to hear.  
  
"So naturally, I listened hard for what he was saying this time, and all he ever says is 'tell her, tell her' or 'I can't hide it much longer, she'll find out, or he'll find out'. He's tossing and turning all of the time as well. As if he's squirming. Not really in much pain, although he clutches his scar occasionally."  
  
Ginny's eyes bugged at the last bit.  
  
"His scar hurt? You have to tell Professor Dumbledore! It could mean that Voldemort is planning an attack! Or... What?"  
  
Ron continued to stare at her as if she was mad.  
  
"You... you said the name..." he muttered.  
  
Ginny scowled, heavily.  
  
"I always have," she said angrily. "You just never spoke to me about anything important before. It was as if you thought I'd snap in two at the mention of anything bad! Hello! I've met Tom Riddle! I've been in the Chamber of Secrets! But you still won't trust me!"  
  
Ginny took a few steadying breaths, regaining her composure.  
  
"And you still need to see Dumbledore! He needs to kn-"  
  
"I've spoken to him already," Ron said. "He told me not to worry, and that Harry's scar would probably hurt more than it used to, and more frequently. He said that if it gets bad, to tell Harry to come and see him, but a good way to tell would be if he said anything in his sleep about Voldemort, because he would probably be having one of his visions. I told him about what he'd been saying in his sleep, but Dumbledore just smiled, said not to worry about that, but get you to speak to him. When I asked why, he just said that 'Ginny and Harry have shared a few experiences - like the one in the Chamber of Secrets, and have strong bonds because of it. They need to talk about it, amongst other things...' Honestly. I swear that man can't give a straight answer to save his life. I asked him what 'other things', and he just replied that 'most people close to Harry could make an educated guess, could they not, Ronald?' I hate it when he calls me that. It's even worse than 'Mr. Weasley'"  
  
Ginny just stared. Surely Dumbledore couldn't mean what she thought he did, could he? Not after so long... Hermione would have noticed, surely... But then, maybe she had.  
  
"Ginny, where are you going?" Ron called after his sister. "It's half an hour 'till curfew!"  
  
"I have to find Hermione! I need to ask her something!" Ginny called as she dashed out of the Portrait Hole.  
  
"But-"  
  
Ginny didn't hear the rest of what her brother said, as the Fat Lady swung shut with an audible click.  
  
She didn't hear her brother mutter under his breath: "Rather you than me, sis. It's Transfiguration homework tonight..."  
  
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"Hermione!" Ginny whispered into her friend's ear in the library, five minutes later.  
  
Hermione looked up from her homework, and glared at Ginny.  
  
"I am trying to complete an essay on 'The Dangers and Possible Uses of Self- Transfiguration' and it's going to take me ages! I could really do without the interruption, Ginny," Hermione scolded.  
  
"But... Hermione, this is about... it's about Harry..." Ginny began, not really knowing how to phrase the awkward question that was coming.  
  
Hermione surprised Ginny, by leaping up.  
  
"What's wrong with him? Is he OK? He should never have been allowed to go out to Quidditch practice! Anyone could get him!" Hermione raved, sounding very much like Mrs. Weasley.  
  
"Hermione," Ginny said, startled. "Harry's fine! Well... he's not in any immediate danger, anyway."  
  
"Oh, Ginny, you scared me!" Hermione said, carefully picking up her chair that had clattered to the floor when she'd jumped up. "So what's so important that you had to come barging in here, scaring me like that, and disrupting my work?" Hermione said, going back into prefect mode.  
  
"It's just that... well, Ron said that Harry hasn't been sleeping well, and when Ron saw Dumbledore about it, Dumbledore just said that I should speak to him, but-"  
  
"Have you spoken to him?" Hermione asked seriously, but Ginny was sure that she could see a glimmer of humour in Hermione's eyes.  
  
"No, I haven't," Ginny said, still trying to use her Seer skills to try and read Hermione.  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "Don't use your You-Know-What skills to do that!"  
  
Ginny giggled at the odd looks from passers-by as Hermione said that.  
  
"Don't laugh! You are abusing your talent!" Hermione whined half-heartedly. "It's not fair! You have an advantage!"  
  
Ginny smiled.  
  
"I know it's not fair, but neither is it fair that you are keeping something from me, especially when it is about me! And if you think feeling the Cruciatus curse every time Voldemort goes on a killing spree, then your not as clever as I thought you were," Ginny muttered into Hermione's ear.  
  
Hermione gasped.  
  
"Ginny, I didn't realize you felt your visions! I mean, I thought you just had to watch them, which is bad enough! Does Dumbledore know that you feel them?" Hermione tried to keep her voice quiet, but she couldn't keep the shock from her voice.  
  
"No! Hermione, stop fussing! Dumbledore doesn't need to know! And how could you keep that from me?!" Ginny hissed.  
  
"Oh, Ginny, how could I tell you? It wouldn't be fair on-" Hermione started.  
  
"Ron always takes my stuff! And he never even asks! The twins aren't this bad! And I don't see what is unfair about telling me that Ron has nicked my owl again! He has Pig! Why wont he ever use him!" Ginny said loudly, receiving a reproving glare from Madam Pince, the Hogwarts librarian.  
  
"Oh - right! Yes! But I promised I wouldn't say! Sorry!" Hermione was relieved. She thought Ginny had found something worse than that. She was surprised that Ginny hadn't already realized that Ron had taken her owl; he had sent a letter to Sirius with it three days ago, now.  
  
"Hermione," Ginny warned. "There's something else, isn't there? Tell me!"  
  
Hermione sighed resignedly.  
  
"Look, Ginny," she said wearily. "You should talk to Harry about it, I'm not the one to tell you. No! Stop it!" Hermione cried, squeezing her eyes shut in vain. "I mean it, Ginny! Go and talk to Harry! You have a lot to discuss."  
  
Ginny sighed, and stopped reading Hermione. It took too much effort when their eyes were closed, anyway. She should ask Dumbledore about training for that...  
  
"Ginny! Were you even listening to what I was saying?" Hermione glared angrily.  
  
"No," said Ginny bluntly. "I was thinking. I need to go and find Harry."  
  
"Well!" Hermione exclaimed sarcastically. "Someone give the girl a medal! She finally got it!"  
  
Ginny giggled as Hermione transfigured one of her numerous quills into a medal, and pinned it on to Ginny's bag.  
  
"Well," Ginny said. "I'm off. But I still don't know what exactly I can do to help."  
  
"You do, and you know it. I'm not falling for the 'I saw Ron stealing my owl again' line, because I heard you arguing with him about that yesterday before breakfast. So you know exactly what's going on, Virginia Weasley!" Ginny smiled weakly at Hermione's look of irritation as she remembered her and Ron's argument the previous morning.  
  
"Well, all I really saw was some conversation with you and Harry, him looking rather awkward. I didn't concentrate hard enough to actually hear what was being said. Last time I tried that, I passed out."  
  
"You mean you can see what's going on? How did I not know that?!"  
  
"Why would I tell you about my secret weapon?" Ginny teased. "And you know perfectly well that Ron doesn't mean it. He loves you really."  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, flushing pink. "That's private!"  
  
"Oh, get over it, Hermione. That's the only way I could see what you were talking with Harry about. It goes through what is troubling your mind most at the moment... and Harry would be offended! 'Oh, let's see, benefits of Self-Transfiguration has loads of uses!' Putting your homework before your friends! You should be ashamed!" Ginny joked.  
  
"It's not life or death, you know!" Hermione said in defense. "It's between you and him! And... Ginny?" Hermione asked nervously.  
  
"What's up? Are you alright?" Hermione was touched by the extreme concern in her friend's voice, but she had to ask a serious question, which could bring up all sorts of bad memories.  
  
"I'm fine, Ginny," Hermione then hesitated. How could she phrase this? She had to try. "When have you tried to listen to someone's memories? Was it... was it in the chamber of secrets?" Hermione asked quietly.  
  
"Yes," Ginny replied sadly. "I tried to read Voldemort's memories fully, when I found something about him talking to an old warlock. That's why I was out cold when Harry arrived. I heard a bit of the conversation, and it was his transformations to become immortal. He could only have been in his fourth year, or something. He was just too young to be doing...that."  
  
Hermione didn't know what to say. She was used to Ginny calling him Voldemort, but Ginny had never told her about reading Voldemort. Hermione couldn't imagine how horrible those transformations must have been, and Ginny had to feel them as well as see them.  
  
"Ginny, you are going to come with me. We will go and see Dumbledore, then go back to the Common Room and you can talk to Harry. Look, it's almost past curfew!" Hermione steered Ginny out of the library quickly, who was putting up an uncharacteristic struggle. None.  
  
As Hermione gave the password (courtesy of being Gryffindor prefect, along with Harry), she was startled to see that Ginny had tears gently rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh, Ginny," Hermione soothed. "I can't even begin to imagine what this must be like for you."  
  
"No one could. Well, except Harry, maybe," Ginny looked up at Hermione, and gave her a watery smile. "He's the only other person I've told about being a Diviner. Oh, Hermione! I'm sorry! I haven't even told Dumbledore! I didn't know how!" Ginny sobbed. As they got to the top of the revolving staircase, Hermione stepped forward and knocked on the door, trying to comfort Ginny all the while.  
  
"Come in!" a voice called from the other side of the door.  
  
Ginny looked up at Hermione. That definitely wasn't Dumbledore. That voice sounded as if it belonged to a man in his mid-thirties, or something.  
  
Ginny and Hermione entered the room, their hands clasping their wands in their robes, just in case.  
  
They were right, the man behind the desk was not Dumbledore. And neither was the young woman sitting next to him.  
  
"Oh, my..." Ginny gasped. "You... you're... you can't be!"  
  
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Good? Bad? Or just plain ugly? You tell me! Review, please! 


	2. You? It can't be you!

Clear as Mud Chapter 2 - You? It can't be you!  
  
A/N: Well, here's the second chapter I promised! As ever, reviews are welcome! The third chapter will be up either today or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to upload chapters. Not too long, I should imagine!  
  
Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter world belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
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"Oh, my..." Ginny gasped. "You... you're... you can't be!"  
  
"But - you're dead!" Hermione said, pinching her arm. "Ouch!" Hermione started to rub her arm.  
  
The woman behind the desk laughed.  
  
"Dumbledore said you'd do that!" she giggled.  
  
Ginny stifled her laughter, instantly taking a liking to this woman - even if she was a zombie.  
  
"Um...where is Dumbledore?" Ginny asked the couple. "And where exactly did you come from?"  
  
Both of their smiles faded, and were replaced by mournful looks.  
  
Ginny gasped again.  
  
"He...he's not dead, is he?" Ginny feared the answer. Looking across at a dumb-struck Hermione, Ginny wasn't sure if she'd even heard what she'd said.  
  
"No, but thank you for the concern," a voice said from the corner. Dumbledore said frowning slightly, but not angrily. He seemed a little confused.  
  
"Now there's something I never thought I'd see!" the young man grinned. "Dumbledore looking confused? It must be one of the side-affects of the spell!"  
  
Dumbledore gave him a reproving look, as if the man had said something he shouldn't have.  
  
"James..." he warned. Hermione's eyes bugged.  
  
"So...so it is? But how?" she stammered. Automatically, Hermione stuck her hand out in front of Ginny's eyes. "Ginny! Let them tell us before you go rooting in there! It's rude, you know!"  
  
The couple's jaws dropped, Dumbledore's eyes widened, Hermione frowned and Ginny sighed.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Just curious...I shouldn't have. Sorry." She apologized again.  
  
"Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you need to tell me something?"  
  
"I think that might be why she's here, professor," the young woman said, as her green eyes studied Ginny carefully.  
  
Suddenly, Ginny heard a voice in her head.  
  
'I never thought that I'd meet another Seer. A real one, I mean. You are Ginny Weasley, am I correct?'  
  
Ginny stared hard at the young woman. Something about the way the woman was staring at her told her that it was her Ginny was conversing with. She decided instantly that she could trust her, so she replied.  
  
'I am. And you are Lily Potter aren't you? Don't worry, I'll wait until Harry gets here before I ask more than that.'  
  
But before Ginny got a reply, the door to Dumbledore's office flew open.  
  
'Being a Seer has its benefits, doesn't it? I should have warned you Harry can hear what we are saying. He is one, too. I suppose you'd guessed that, though?' The young woman replied.  
  
It seemed that Ginny being a Seer and his supposedly dead parents standing in front of him was a bit too much for Harry to take in.  
  
"Sorry," Harry said suddenly. "I'm in a wacky dream here. I'll just be off..."  
  
Before he'd walked out of the door, Hermione grabbed his arm. Ginny and Lily both laughed. She still hadn't closed her mouth.  
  
"Well, really," James smirked. "I never would have guessed that one of Harry's best friends would be a goldfish!"  
  
Hermione continued to stare. Then, without warning, she keeled over in a dead faint.  
  
Luckily, Harry caught her.  
  
"Well, that's funny," Harry commented. "There was me thinking that she'd be the one having to stop be from splatting on the floor."  
  
"What a wonderful vocabulary you have," James said dryly. "We have a walking talking thesaurus with us!"  
  
"And another thing I would never have guessed," Harry said grinning at his father. "If I hadn't been a Seer, having my dead father tell me to broaden my vocabulary wasn't on my list of will-happens."  
  
Lily's eyes filled with tears.  
  
'I never thought I'd see you again!' she sobbed, but only Ginny and Harry could hear her.  
  
'You might want to come out of Seer mode, Mum," Harry smirked. 'I don't think anyone can hear you...'  
  
'I only needed you to, Harry,' Lily smiled at him.  
  
"Ahem!" James cleared his throat loudly. "This is so unfair! I'm going to have to put up with you three mind-talking all of the time!"  
  
Harry, Ginny and Lily exchanged mischievous looks.  
  
Yet again, the door banged open. This time it was Ron.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore! Harry, Hermione and Ginny are...here," he finished, looking around in astonishment.  
  
Harry had to stop himself from laughing out loud at what Ron must be thinking about what was going on in front of him.  
  
Hermione was passed out in Harry's arms, who was looking intently at Ginny and his dead mother, all three grinning mischievously, who were being glared at by Harry's dead father who was complaining that Ginny, Harry and Lily shouldn't be able to talk to each other in their heads and Dumbledore chuckling quietly in the corner.  
  
"Perfect timing!" James cried. "Someone I can talk to that wont try to think at me!" He glared pointedly at Lily.  
  
"Ahhh, does ickle Jamsie-kins feel left out?" Lily teased.  
  
"Well, as you can see, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "We are currently welcoming our new guests!"  
  
Ron smiled weakly.  
  
"Ron Weasley, then?" James asked. "Sorry, but I can't just read you like this lot," Lily laughed. Everyone knew that James was just messing about, really.  
  
"Er...read?" Ron asked.  
  
James sniffed.  
  
"Those three," he said, jabbing his finger over his shoulder at Lily, Harry and Ginny. "Have just discovered that they all have a connection in that they're all Seers." James looked down at him, a pleading look on his face. "Please don't tell me you're one, too! I don't think I could contain my envy!" Everyone laughed. "Harry, Lily, and Harry's girlfriend... not his best friend too!"  
  
Harry and Ginny both sobered up.  
  
"We're just friends," Harry said. "Ginny's not my girlfriend."  
  
"Oh, yeah!" James said. "It went wrong! The great Seer thought that you'd see Harry before coming to Dumbledore!" James laughed at Lily while smiling at Ginny. "This makes it so much harder!"  
  
Lily scowled.  
  
"If you remember," she huffed. "I said that if Harry arrived with Ginny, a bit later, then that meant that Ginny would be Harry's girlfriend! And now look! You've embarrassed them both!"  
  
James raised an eyebrow. Then he turned to Harry.  
  
"Sorry, mate," he said in a stage-whisper. "She's a baby-photos type...the ones she has anyway...I think that we should get to the serious part as soon as Hermione wakes up." He bit his lip. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Are we going to tell them about that thing tonight?" James directed the last question to Dumbledore.  
  
Harry scoffed.  
  
"And you accuse me of bad vocabulary!"  
  
Ron came across and checked on Hermione who Harry had rested in a chair by the fireplace. Hermione's eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Ron? Oh, Merlin, I just had the weirdest dream..." Hermione trailed off as she looked around the room, and laughed. "Or not!"  
  
Regaining her control, she sat up. And pinched herself, just in case.  
  
" Ouch! So, what have I missed?" she asked, rubbing the back of her hand.  
  
"Just those three Seers gossiping in their heads," James said, winking at Ron.  
  
"You're not going to let that rest, are you?" Ginny asked, briefly leaving her conversation with Harry and Lily.  
  
James just grinned.  
  
"Anyway," Dumbledore said. I think we ought to get on with some more serious topics, now. James, could you floo for Minerva - she ought to be here, if not only to be told of where several of her students have disappeared to. And you will probably want to floo Severus, Sirius, Remus and Arabella also, am I correct?"  
  
"You are, professor," James nodded, "I'll do that now."  
  
James reached down into a pot full of pale blue powder, and threw some of it into the fire.  
  
"Professor Snape?" Hermione asked. "You were friends with him?"  
  
"We were," Lily said. "He was in Gryffindor with us. He was one of the Marauders, in fact. He just had to transfer into Slytherin in third year, because his parents had already signed him over to Voldemort, so Severus turned spy. After that we rarely got to see him." Lily sighed. "I heard that he's still spying. I was hoping that when Dumbledore called us Voldemort would have been defeated..."  
  
All of a sudden, a yell of surprise was heard from the fireplace.  
  
"Sirius," Dumbledore chuckled. "I forgot. Maybe I should have flood everyone..."  
  
"Oh, Mum?" Harry asked, albeit a little awkwardly - it still felt very odd to say that. "Who's Arabella?"  
  
"Oh! I haven't seen Bella in ages! Her full name is Arabella Figg-"  
  
"Figg?! You mean my next-door neighbour at the Dursleys?" Harry asked, astounded.  
  
"Oh, Harry," James said apologetically, whilst dodging a red hot poker Sirius was shoving through the fireplace. "Padfoot! It's me, you idiot! I'm sorry you had to stay with those evil muggles! I don't know how you lived with them! SIRIUS!"  
  
Lily nodded sympathetically, completely ignoring the fact that her husband was being stabbed with the poker.  
  
"It must have been dreadful!" she said. "I can't even begin to - oh, for pity's sake! Sirius Black! Get off my husband! And get here right now! We have some explaining to do!"  
  
Suddenly the poker vanished, and two figures appeared in the fire place, revolving slowly.  
  
"Moony!" James yelled. "Padfoot!"  
  
"Yay! Reunion!" Yelled Sirius, jumping around happily. "Oh, and sorry about the whole poker thing - I didn't realize it was really you. I thought it was Harry."  
  
"Oh, cheers!" Harry said sarcastically.  
  
"Well! You are supposed to be in bed now!" Moony cut in, in his friends defense.  
  
"Some things might excuse that, Professor Lupin," Ginny said pointedly, whilst asking Lily:  
  
'Is he always as bossy as that?'  
  
'Yup' came the reply.  
  
'Harry! Don't answer my questions for me! But yes, he is.' Lily said.  
  
Ginny snickered.  
  
"What? Oh, and please call me Remus. I'm no longer your professor. You can all call me Remus, or Moony. Whichever."  
  
Hermione looked a bit hesitant, but remained silent.  
  
"A little help!" Yelped James from the fireplace. It seemed that Severus had had a similar idea with the whole poker thing.  
  
"SEVERUS!" Yelled Sirius. "Get over here now! And leave ickle Jamsie-kins alone!"  
  
James growled, and everyone else, with the exception of Dumbledore, sniggered.  
  
A moment later, Severus Snape had appeared in the office. With a flick of his wand, his hair receded into his head and his nose shrunk. He now looked like Sirius' twin.  
  
"Hey cuz!" Sirius cried.  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Weirdoes," Lily muttered.  
  
"Not in your head, dear," muttered James.  
  
"I know," replied Lily.  
  
"So - what in Merlin's name are two of my dead best friends doing here - a chat, perhaps?" Severus asked sarcastically.  
  
"Got it in one, Snake!" James teased.  
  
"Get stuffed, Prongs!" retorted Snape.  
  
"Oh, just shut up, wont you?" came a new voice from the fire.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood confused as a young woman with raven- coloured hair stepped out of the fire and kissed Snape on the cheek, without turning a hair at his new look.  
  
"Good to see your looking normal, love," she said, looking at Snape. "Hi! I'm Arabella! No, don't tell me... you're Harry...you must be Ginny...you've got to be Ron...and that would make you Hermione, right?" The four nodded. "Yes!" she said, punching the air with her fist.  
  
"How did you know that was Ginny?" asked Lily curiously.  
  
"Let's just say, like father, like son," she said, winking at Harry. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! Woman interest? Hello! Obvious or what!"  
  
"I have to agree," said Severus. "She's right, for once..."  
  
Snape got a whack around the head for that.  
  
"Why did you marry me, then? If I'm so stupid..." Arabella trailed off, noticing the looks. "I guess you haven't mentioned that yet.."  
  
Snape rolled his eyes. "Well done! Well observed."  
  
Arabella sighed.  
  
"Why did you not tell me?" Lily cried, hugging her friend in congratulations.  
  
"Well, there was this small problem with you being dead and all..."  
  
It was then, that Ginny spoke up.  
  
"You're American."  
  
"Wow, are we surrounded by bright women or what?" Snape rolled his eyes again.  
  
"You should be careful those eyes don't go and roll out of your head," Lily bit back.  
  
"Ooh! Touché!" Arabella grinned.  
  
"I think it's time we got down to some of the more serious aspects of this," suggested Dumbledore, before Snape could retort.  
  
"Now, first things first..."  
  
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I'm ever so sorry for the weirdness of this chapter, it's all over the place. Next up we have people's reactions when it all sinks in, and how Lily and James came to be in Dumbledore's office. Please review and tell me what you think. I am not so pleased with this chapter, but I hope it's OK.  
  
Review, please! 


	3. Explanations

Clear as Mud Chapter 3 - Explanations  
  
A/N: Sorry for all of the confusion! Re-reading it, I can tell that I rushed into it a bit. I knew what I meant to say, but because I already knew it, I thought I'd already written it. Does that make sense? I hope so. I also apologize for the lack of reaction in the previous chapter. I am not very happy with that, but the realization and some explanations will come in this chapter. If you are confused about anything, please tell me because it really helps when I'm trying to continue! It's really hard when you break between writing, cause you kind of loose your thread.  
  
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. Same as she did before. Anyway.  
  
Big thanks to Enter the Red Age (love the name!) for reviewing. I hope I explain this better in this chapter. I admit, the whole Seer thing is really confusing, it's hard to write too. I need to include it, though, so that the parts I'm planning make sense. You'll probably understand when I write it. Hopefully. Anyway, on with the story...  
  
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"I think we should start with how Lily and James came to be here," Dumbledore said, looking around at the group through his half-moon spectacles. "The story is rather long, so please make yourselves comfortable."  
  
There was an instant flurry of movement, as everyone (with the exception of Dumbledore) hurried to get one of the seats.  
  
"Gerroff!" Harry exclaimed as Severus sat on his lap.  
  
"Whoops!" Said Severus, jumping up. He settled for knocking Sirius out of his chair, and sitting on it.  
  
Sirius growled, and sat on the floor, instead. Snape smirked. Arabella grinned.  
  
"Ah, poor Padfoot!" she cooed. "Come and sit here next to me!"  
  
The smirk on Snape's face instantly changed into one of deep hatred.  
  
Sirius appeared to have noticed.  
  
"Er...I'll just stay here, thanks," he said, shifting away from Snape.  
  
Now the group were all seated.  
  
At the end of Dumbledore's desk, sat Ginny, who was sharing a chair with Hermione, who had Ron sitting on the arm. Harry sat on the next chair, with Sirius on the floor in front of him, though still scooting away from Severus. Next to Harry, was Remus, followed by James, with Lily on his lap, and Arabella next to him. Sitting rather protectively next to Arabella, was an extremely disgruntled Severus, who was at the other end of Dumbledore's desk.  
  
"So...how did they get here exactly? I mean, I thought that they were dead..." Harry trailed off, not quite knowing if he wanted to know the answer or not. Had they been alive all along? Was he really just kept in the dark for all these years? At the Dursleys? How could they do this?  
  
The full impact hit, as the conversation turned serious.  
  
James looked at Dumbledore.  
  
"Shall I explain?" he asked. "Or would you like to?"  
  
"I think you should tell your version of events, as I do not know all of what happened. Maybe you could help, Lily?" Dumbledore suggested.  
  
Lily and James both nodded.  
  
"Well," James began. "That night, Halloween, when Voldemort came, Lily was upstairs putting Harry to bed - or trying to anyway," a rueful smile played across James' face. "Always a nightmare to get to sleep..." Harry blushed. He hadn't changed much, then. "But anyway, when Voldemort came, obviously I told Lily to run..." at this point, he glared at his wife.  
  
"But I did no such thing," she continued for him, returning the glare.  
  
"As we know," said James, frowning. "But anyway, I tried to fight Voldemort off, but he was too powerful. And then everything went black. I thought that he had knocked me out, but it turns out that he had tried to kill me. That's as far as my memory serves, on that night." He turned to Lily. "I think you can continue?"  
  
"Yes, I can," she said. "As you all know, the same sort of thing happened to me, but I was trying to get in his way, because he...he..." Lily trailed off, tears welling in her eyes. She looked across at Harry. "He did not want to kill Harry. He knew that Harry was powerful, and he wanted to take him over to the Dark Side. Of course, I lied to him and told him that Harry was a squib, and not quite being tops in the brain department, he believed me. I repeatedly told him that Harry was not to blame, and that I was, but he still was angry. He had spent the last year trying to kill a baby, and for no reason. The week before, James and I had a bond charm formed, so that if one person was hit with the Cruciatus curse, the pain would be half passed on to the other of us, so when Voldemort tried to kill James, he was only knocked out. Our charms were deliberately done with other people, so if one of us was knocked out, the other could still fight." Lily looked across at Sirius.  
  
"That's when I realized that Voldemort had come. When I felt my energy drain, and as soon as I was woken up, I headed straight for Godric's Hollow. On my way there, I found Arabella lying on the floor. She was right outside where the front door had once been, so I thought that Voldemort had found her. Then I realized that Lily must have used Ara for her bonds. I awoke Arabella, and we both searched the ruins that remained." Sirius bowed his head. "We both thought that they were dead."  
  
"We did," Arabella agreed. "Especially when we found Harry. Lily had used a protection charm on him, so that if the killing curse is fired at you, then whoever you chose to protect cannot be harmed. It makes sense now," she said thoughtfully. "The book never said that you had to die from it..."  
  
"Precisely, and that is how we formulated the plan," said Lily. "Because I am a Seer, I knew that this would happen, so I knew that it was possible for us to find a way. That is the only reason I never gave up. That and my family," she added, smiling at Harry and James.  
  
"So then what happened?" Ginny asked. "Who found you? Where did you spend the next 15 years?"  
  
James then spoke up.  
  
"We spent the next few weeks where we were," admitted James, smiling slightly. "But when we awoke, we were both far too weak to go in search of help, but then a muggle found us, and helped us. The only problem was, was that both Lily and I had severe concussion. We remembered nothing about the attack, or about anything, for that matter." James smirked at the memory.  
  
"But, as always, Padfoot was there to save the day." Lily grinned.  
  
"Me? What did I do?" Asked a confused looking Sirius.  
  
"Because living with these muggles, we had nothing to jog our memories, we did not remember anything at all." Lily continued.  
  
"Until Sirius escaped, and you saw him on television...it all makes sense..." Hermione looked amazed as she spoke.  
  
"Exactly," said James. "And we finally started to remember who we were. What we were like. Each time Padfoot appeared on television the memories were getting stronger, until we finally realized what we had to do."  
  
"Until I realized, you mean," smirked Lily. "This dimwit here took AGES to remember everything. We were standing outside Hogwarts before he remembered who Dumbledore was." James blushed.  
  
"Why does that not surprise me?" asked Moony, sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, shut up," snapped James. "Anyway, we got here, and finally managed to convince Dumbledore we were who we said we were, and here we are now!"  
  
Lily chuckled.  
  
"I still can't get over what you said when I told you about Hogwarts..." she giggled as she reminisced. " 'Hogwarts? What's that? That sounds like... I dunno. What are you talking about? Is it something you want for your birthday?' Honestly, James!" She giggled again.  
  
"That was almost as funny as the time we first saw Sirius on the TV," James retorted, raising an eyebrow, and putting on a high-pitched voice. " 'I knew it! Look! James! It's him! It's Severus Black!'"  
  
Both Severus and Sirius snorted.  
  
"Well, I was close enough!" Lily said indignantly. "At least I didn't ask you if you wanted him for your birthday..."  
  
Everyone burst out laughing.  
  
"Thank you for that, James, Lily..." Dumbledore said, then his face turned more serious. "Now let's be serious, now-"  
  
"Let's not," interrupted Arabella. "One Sirius is enough, thank you very much!"  
  
"Ha. Ha. You are just SO funny. Not." Sirius said sarcastically.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's just get on with it, shall we?" she asked, gesturing at Dumbledore.  
  
"Thank you, Lily. I think we still have another matter to discuss. Lily. Am I correct in assuming that you are a Seer?" Dumbledore asked, turning to the young woman on his right. She nodded in confirmation. "I do believe we discussed that, a long time ago. Which explains that Harry probably is one, due to the charm that Lily performed on Harry as a baby. When you save someone's life, if the bond created is strong enough, it is possible for powers to pass between them, which would lead me to believe that Ginny did not discover her power until she came out of the Chamber of Secrets. Is that correct?"  
  
"No, Professor," Ginny shook her head. "I have had the powers since I was about five, I think. Or that's when I discovered them, anyway."  
  
"And you never told me?" Ron looked outraged.  
  
"You never asked," replied Ginny, a hint of coldness traceable.  
  
"Well, then, Ginny," said Dumbledore. "I can only assume that you were born a Seer, my dear." Dumbledore turned to the rest of the group. "This gives us an advantage over Voldemort," Dumbledore continued. "If we train Ginny and Harry, then we will have three fully-trained Seers in our ranks, and that will help strengthen any attack we can plan against him. But you must all remember: even if a Seer gets a vision, you can change the future. What they see is just a possible outcome. If we do not work hard enough, we can still fail, regardless of the visions we may have heard of. Now, where is Minerva? I thought that you were going to floo her, James?"  
  
James winced.  
  
"I knew I'd forgotten something..."  
  
"Never mind. I shall speak to her now. I suggest that you all go to bed, for it is getting late, and you all should get some rest. Especially you two," Dumbledore gestured at Lily and James. "It has been a long day for you. I will see you all in the morning."  
  
Everyone mumbled their goodnights, and Severus and Arabella took to their old appearances.  
  
With that, the headmaster's office slowly emptied, until only Dumbledore remained.  
  
"Minerva," Dumbledore said to the cat in the corner. "You may come out now. I would very much appreciate it if you did not spy on me like that. One would almost think you didn't trust me..."  
  
"Why, precisely, would I trust you?" Minerva McGonagall asked, after transforming back into her human form. "When you keep something like this from me?"  
  
"If you were listening, I do believe that I asked James to floo you. Then I realized that there was no need. I will see you in the morning, Minerva."  
  
The finality in the old man's voice was clear, so the woman said goodnight, then left, vowing to seek some answers in the morning.  
  
"What a night..." Dumbledore murmured to himself. "And what a day will surely follow..."  
  
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A/N: I hope that answered some of your questions! It was quite long, but at least it makes more sense now. Review with your opinions. 


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